DuBose Heyward, in full Edwin Dubose Heyward (born Aug. 31, 1885, Charleston, S.C., U.S.—died June 16, 1940, Tryon, N.C.), American novelist, dramatist, and poet whose first novel, Porgy (1925), was the basis for a highly successful play, an opera, and a motion picture.

At the age of 17 Heyward worked on the waterfront, where he observed the black Americans who were to become the subject of his writing. Heyward first wrote poems: Carolina Chansons (1922), a joint publication with Hervey Allen; Skylines and Horizons (1924); and Jasbo Brown and Selected Poems (1931). Porgy was set in Catfish Row, a Charleston tenement street. His other novels include Angel (1926), Peter Ashley (1932), and Star-Spangled Virgin (1939).

In 1927 Heyward and his wife Dorothy dramatized Porgy. In 1935 the opera Porgy and Bess was produced with libretto and words by Heyward and Ira Gershwin and music by George Gershwin. A motion-picture version appeared in 1959. His other plays include Brass Ankle (1931), about miscegenation, and Mamba’s Daughters, also dramatized by Heyward and his wife from the novel (1929).

Dorothy Heyward (1890–1961) attended G.P. Baker’s Workshop 47 at Harvard University and had a play produced on Broadway in 1924. She was most effective as a collaborator with her husband and others.

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dramatic folk opera in three acts by George Gershwin. Its English libretto was written by DuBose Heyward (with lyrics by Heyward and Ira Gershwin), based on Heyward’s novel Porgy (1925). The opera—which premiered at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on October 10, 1935—is considered to be the first great American opera. It contains many beloved musical...

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(1885-1940). A novelist, dramatist, and poet, DuBose Heyward achieved his greatest success with his first novel, Porgy, published in 1925. The book became the basis for a highly successful play, an opera, and a motion picture.

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